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Topic: WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP (Read 516991 times) previous topic - next topic
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WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #25
Okay, completely NOT getting this. Here is the situation, on a Windows XP machine with WMP 11.

I have a song from Van Morrison, called 'Oh the warm feeling'. Funny thing is that in WMP online database it is wrong saved: 'Oh the Warn Feeling'. That is how I can check if things are adjusted or not.

So I have loaded the file into WMP. Title then is called 'warn', also in filename with small caps.. I load information from WMP database.. It finds the song, and I hit the ok button. Title is called now 'warm' in WMP. Also it immediatly changes filename to 'Warn' with caps. Then apply media changes, first it changes files (can see by timestamp) nothing seem to happen, then at last, when whole album has been changed, it changes back to file name 'warm' and also small caps. This also happens in WMP where titles are changed back (so it is not corresponding WMP database anymore) and with small caps.

Another funny thing: if I check tags with Audioshell, it tells me title is 'Oh the Warn Feeling'. If I check tags in WMP it tells me 'Oh the warm feeling'. I have deleted the database and let it rebuild again: still the same situation. No tags are written, although Audioshell displays correct tags.

So I have also checked if tags were written if I uncheck "Rename music files" and "Rearrange music in rip music folder" settings. Still the same problem.

Also checked to manually edit the file. After I change the title of a song and hit apply media changes, It changes back to original name???? Then If I check in explorer with Audioshell, it has been changed? Still wmp won't read it out.

Now here it comes: I changed the filename manually to 'test'. Without an active database, I opened the file: it shows title 'test' like I have adjusted. THen I rebuilded my database, and it loaded the 'Warm feeling' title again. That is interesting, since it was NOT in tag anymore, and also not in filename. Where did WMP get the title from? I also manually opened the file again, title now shows 'Warm feeling' again....

pfffffffff.

conclusion
As far as I can understand, does the plugin indeed change tags in flac file (since Audioshell shows changed tags, and also file timestamp is adjusted). But: WMP somehow is forced to read a hardcoded filetitle tag, somewhere in the FLAC file instead of title tag or filename.

Well enough bugtesting for now hhehehe.. this should be valuable information for you

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #26
Thanks for doing some more investigation. I tried to reproduce the problem by following your previous message but everything worked fine on my system. This makes me suspect that it only happens on certain files.

Also checked to manually edit the file. After I change the title of a song and hit apply media changes, It changes back to original name???? Then If I check in explorer with Audioshell, it has been changed? Still wmp won't read it out.

I think it would be best to go on with this, the rest is too confusing for me too  Would it be possible to send me this file through PM? Something like Yousendit will do fine. Hopefully, this will allow me to reproduce the problem so I can start debugging it.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #27
I have just send a pm..

might it be that it has something to do with the files being stored an a network attached system (NAS Synology DS 207+)??

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #28
Thanks for sending me the file. WMP Tag Plus indeed doesn't write changed tags to the file correctly (it does actually save the changes, but doesn't overwrite the old values, and gets the old values again on the next read). AudioShell does seem to read the new values, so that explains why you were seeing different things in AudioShell and WMP. WMP Tag Plus uses TagLib to read/write tags, and I'm pretty sure that this is a bug in TagLib, so I have reported this on their bug tracker. I guess the only thing we can do now is wait, and hope that a TagLib developer will quickly notice and fix this...

The bug only seems to happen on certain FLAC files, I think that most files will still work fine.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #29
Nice you have undertaken action so quickly..

and also to see that I'm not crazy.. hehehe

will see what happens!

thanks!

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #30
So I wanted to try out your plugin, having seen the purported advantages over the WMP Tag Support Extender. However, when I tried to install it I got the error: "Setup was unable to find Windows Media Player on this computer. Please make sure that at least version 11 of Windows Media Player is installed, this is required to use WMP Tag Plus." This is odd, seeing how I am running Windows 7 x64, which has WMP 12 installed. I use the Shark007 codec pack with the x64 components, and I have tried using both the 32-bit and 64-bit WMP's by setting them in the x64 Components settings manager.
So, my question is: why?

Thanks for your help in advance.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #31
I installed the x64 Components Add-on myself and noticed that it made some changes to the registry that confused the WMP Tag Plus installer. Please re-download WMP Tag Plus, this problem should be fixed now. Note that WMP Tag Plus only works on the 32-bit version of WMP.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #32
Thanks for the timely response. I am actually in the process of reinstalling Windows 7 in honor of the launch (yeah, I'm one of those people reinstalling all the time). I will try this in a few minutes.
Just curious, why are all these extensions 32-bit only? What would be the work to get a 64 bit version up and running? And also, is your source available? I'm trying to get into windows development (particularly WMP/C)  and I would like to look through the source of a few of my favourites.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #33
It would require quite a lot of work to make an x64 version of WMP Tag Plus. Besides that, it would add two more test cases, on top of Windows XP and the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7. In my opinion, it really isn't worth all the trouble: the 32-bit version of WMP works just as good and just as fast as the 64-bit version. I guess that the other extension developers feel the same way about this.

The source code of WMP Tag Plus isn't available. I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point anyway, because WMP Tag Plus relies on API hooking to add metadata support, which requires at least some programming experience and a good understanding of the Windows internals. The plug-in uses very little of the actual WMP API.

BTW, WMP Tag Plus is now out of beta and is officially released, the plug-in's web page is at http://bmproductions.fixnum.org/wmptagplus

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #34
OK, understood. I do however have another interesting problem. Sometimes when I open windows media center (player) I have no media, and it tkes a little while to load. Then other times I have media, and it all loads twice. I've checked the file locations, they are the same. I'm not really sure what to make of this.

 

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #35
That doesn't really sound like it could be caused by WMP Tag Plus. Does this still happen after uninstalling my plug-in? Maybe your WMP library somehow got corrupted and needs to be rebuild? (be aware that rebuilding the library will make you lose all play counts, and possibly ratings too)

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #36
That doesn't really sound like it could be caused by WMP Tag Plus. Does this still happen after uninstalling my plug-in? Maybe your WMP library somehow got corrupted and needs to be rebuild? (be aware that rebuilding the library will make you lose all play counts, and possibly ratings too)

Well this is definitely something that has happened since the installation. However, I exited WMP and restarted and for the last few times it seems to have stabilised. I really like this plugin and will definitely remember to include it in my apps that must be installed on a new computer. Thanks for all your hard work.
As a side note, I have my HomeGroup computers linked, and I am trying to play media over the internet (at university). I can play the MP3's but the FLAC's do not play. Do you know if it's just a bandwidth issue or does your plugin not afford this capability?

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #37
Are the required DirectShow filters for FLAC playback installed on the target PC? That's the only thing I can think of, to be honest. WMP Tag Plus only handles the metadata, anything related to playback is handled by other components. I have never tested this, so it might work, but it just as well won't.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #38
It would require quite a lot of work to make an x64 version of WMP Tag Plus. Besides that, it would add two more test cases, on top of Windows XP and the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7. In my opinion, it really isn't worth all the trouble: the 32-bit version of WMP works just as good and just as fast as the 64-bit version. I guess that the other extension developers feel the same way about this.


Just browsing this thread, and it may be worth noting that to get some 64bit codecs  (flac, mov, whatnot) running on W7 64bit in Media Center using the shark007 codec pack (from here) you have to make WMP12 64bit the default instance of WMP (W7 comes with both 32 and 64 bit versions, and out of the box by default it runs 32bit).  I guess that might mean having to run WMP12 (32) for tagging duties and WMP12 (64) at other times.  Or something... which might get sort of annoying.

Still, when people are writing useful software and providing it gratis who's complaining at minor inconveniences?!

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #39
It would require quite a lot of work to make an x64 version of WMP Tag Plus. Besides that, it would add two more test cases, on top of Windows XP and the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7. In my opinion, it really isn't worth all the trouble: the 32-bit version of WMP works just as good and just as fast as the 64-bit version. I guess that the other extension developers feel the same way about this.


Just browsing this thread, and it may be worth noting that to get some 64bit codecs  (flac, mov, whatnot) running on W7 64bit in Media Center using the shark007 codec pack (from here) you have to make WMP12 64bit the default instance of WMP (W7 comes with both 32 and 64 bit versions, and out of the box by default it runs 32bit).  I guess that might mean having to run WMP12 (32) for tagging duties and WMP12 (64) at other times.  Or something... which might get sort of annoying.

Still, when people are writing useful software and providing it gratis who's complaining at minor inconveniences?!

Are there any tangible benefits of running the 64-bit WMP?

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #40
Are there any tangible benefits of running the 64-bit WMP?

I had to do it to get the 64 bit codecs (flac, mov some others, but those two I needed) from shark007 to work in W7(64) Media Center - which we use in the living room.  Without making 64 bit WMP the default, Media Center would complain that it couldn't find those files: even though they showed up in its library, when you clicked to play them they wouldn't... at least that was the case for QT movies.  Unconfirmed for flacs, as once I diagnosed the problem I set WMP 64 bit as the default and haven't seen the problem again.

This was even though WMP 32 bit and 64 bit were perfectly happy to play those mov files.  So... confusingly for my setup the advantage of running WMP 64 bit is in the behaviour of Media Center, not WMP itself!

Should leave it at that - don't want to get the thread off-topic...

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #41
Thanks for sending me the file. WMP Tag Plus indeed doesn't write changed tags to the file correctly (it does actually save the changes, but doesn't overwrite the old values, and gets the old values again on the next read). AudioShell does seem to read the new values, so that explains why you were seeing different things in AudioShell and WMP. WMP Tag Plus uses TagLib to read/write tags, and I'm pretty sure that this is a bug in TagLib, so I have reported this on their bug tracker. I guess the only thing we can do now is wait, and hope that a TagLib developer will quickly notice and fix this...

The bug only seems to happen on certain FLAC files, I think that most files will still work fine.



any news on the bug? I have tried today again with some other files, but all seem to have the problem.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #42
One of the TagLib developers asked me to send a FLAC file that shows the problem, so I sent him the same file you sent me. That was last weekend, and no real news since then. I will ask them for an update myself this weekend if nothing has happened by then.

Another thing that might be useful, is if you could tell how exactly the FLAC files were created.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #43
Hey Tim,

I checked against some deeper myself and found out something interesting. The flac files are on a NAS (Synology), and I haven given rights to read/write. When I change something to the files in wmp, eg: searching for album info and apply, I see now that somehow the rights are changed to only read. That might be the problem for not righting it correctly. I don't know if this is a bug caused by your plugin.. but it happens to mp3 and flac files.

I'm gonna post this on synology forum also. Will keep you informed.

Have you have any experience with the plugin in combination with network locations?

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #44
oh I forgot to mention that I have created the flac files from original cd's with exact audio copy program.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #45
I checked against some deeper myself and found out something interesting. The flac files are on a NAS (Synology), and I haven given rights to read/write. When I change something to the files in wmp, eg: searching for album info and apply, I see now that somehow the rights are changed to only read. That might be the problem for not righting it correctly. I don't know if this is a bug caused by your plugin.. but it happens to mp3 and flac files.

I think it's pretty safe to say that this isn't caused by my plug-in if it happens to MP3 files too. WMP Tag Plus doesn't read from/write to these files, they are completely handled by WMP itself. It certainly doesn't explain the weird behaviour with tags you were seeing earlier, that really seems to be a bug in TagLib.

Have you have any experience with the plugin in combination with network locations?

No, it was only tested on local music files.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #46
Just browsing this thread, and it may be worth noting that to get some 64bit codecs  (flac, mov, whatnot) running on W7 64bit in Media Center using the shark007 codec pack (from here) you have to make WMP12 64bit the default instance of WMP (W7 comes with both 32 and 64 bit versions, and out of the box by default it runs 32bit).  I guess that might mean having to run WMP12 (32) for tagging duties and WMP12 (64) at other times.  Or something... which might get sort of annoying.

By way of follow up, you can use it as suggested above.  The WMP x86 (ie 32bit) plugin for library management and tagging works as advertised.  And provided you have x64 codecs set up, once it's in the library, Media Center should find it and play fine.  Works for me on flacs (only one album so far, but it works).

One strange thing is that when viewed through the Music Library link in Explorer, which is how W7 organises things, a whole load of extra cover images not all of them from the right album - but all from the same artist in my case, show up in the folder.  When you look at the underlying folder though, there's no sign of those added images.  Closer examination shows that they are images from the other folders for that artist. 

It all looks OK in WMP and WMC though.

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #47
One strange thing is that when viewed through the Music Library link in Explorer, which is how W7 organises things, a whole load of extra cover images not all of them from the right album - but all from the same artist in my case, show up in the folder.  When you look at the underlying folder though, there's no sign of those added images.  Closer examination shows that they are images from the other folders for that artist. 

It all looks OK in WMP and WMC though.


OK - all those extra jpg images only happened to that one album.  I'm guessing they will go away if I delete and rebuild the WMP database - but haven't got time for that now.  A second album didn't pick up all the extra garbage.  The Music Library in Windows 7 doesn't see the tags at all even though WMP and WMC do.  No surprise really, as the program is a plug-in for WMP, not the OS!

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #48
tim...

I just cleared my library and re-added everything since i was updating all the files tags and wanted to start clean.

it seems that now it is not picking up the album art out of the flac file.  if i have a folder.jpg with the files it will display that, but if i remove or rename the folder.jpg, WMP is not reading the art out of the file itself.  i believe it is supposed to.  let me know if i am wrong.  i pm'd you a file.

thanks

WMP Tag Plus - MPEG4, Vorbis and FLAC metadata support for WMP

Reply #49
WMP Tag Plus currently doesn't support album art, sorry for not mentioning this earlier. This is something that might be added later in a new version.